And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and reathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Gen. 2:7).
The dust of the ground
This is a favorite memory verse for Sunday-school scholars and rightly so. Some of the frequently asked questions are: Where did people come from? Is there a reason for their existence? These are on the short list of the most important questions ever asked. The origin of humankind has been resolved for the majority of today’s society by the theory of evolution. For them the purpose of life is self-centered; to propagate, diversify and continue the species. For Bible believers the answer is very clear — God created human kind in His image and likeness for the purpose of glorifying His Name.
The themes and patterns of this message echo throughout the Bible. The creation of man set the pattern for God’s work from that time forward, and enters into the remembrance of our Lord today. God began with the dust of the ground. The fact Adam was made from the dust of the ground has served as an antidote to pride for all his descendants. It is a salutary reminder that we too are dust — without God’s mercy in providing the Lord Jesus for our salvation, we will return to the ground and so remain.
Racial division
We are not told how many animals Almighty God made; they may well have been dispersed throughout the entire world in that sixth day of creation. In contrast, the record of man is specific; there was just one from whom woman and the ensuing race was derived. This was fitting, for we are made in the image and likeness of God, who is also one.
A strong sense of bonding should have been apparent among the descendants of the first pair. The separation of mankind into individual races and nationalities was surely not part of God’s original intent but came about as a consequence of sin. Cain’s murderous action toward his brother and the pride and rebellion at Babel ensured the inevitability of division. Only when Christ has returned and subdued the seed of Cain will the world’s population be truly united under him.
Anticipating the life to come
Before man became a living soul, there were two distinct actions taken by God. First, He formed the man from the soil and then He breathed life into him. Until the man was fully formed, he was not capable of sustaining the breath of life; he was not ready to be a living soul. This is similar to our situation; we are being formed and prepared for the time when the breath of eternal life is breathed into our frame of dust. Compared with the anticipated spiritual body, the form that we now bear is weak and transient. “As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.. .For this corruptible must put on in corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality…” (I Cor. 15:49,53). Man was made to reflect the image and likeness of God and the living God must be manifest in a living image. The human body is a wonderful creation; every part and every function works with all the others to the glory of its Creator, but this is only a shadow of what we shall be.
All the potential inherent in the creation of Adam was marred through disobedience. God made man a living soul, but because of sin man cannot hold on to life. Did God create this living soul in vain only to see it die and decay? Will the sinfulness of man bring the work of God to ruin? God’s answer to these challenges is the focus of our memorial service today in that He redeemed man from death by His son, our Lord, whom we remember in the bread and the wine.
We rejoice because we are part of God’s new creation in Christ: “As it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (I Cor. 15:45). The Lord Jesus Christ was much more than the image of the living God, he was the Word made flesh with the authority to bestow life to all who trust in him. In God’s mercy we have been born again through that same life-giving spirit-word and are gathered here in obedience to our Master’s command.
Life from death
Paradoxically, we remember the Lord of life through his death. He surrendered his life and was laid in his grave a lifeless form, less lovely than the first form of man because of the manner of his death. “His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men…” (Is. 52:14).
In his life, Jesus manifested the Father in faith and truth. Here was the express image of God in character as well as in form; thus in the beauty of holiness he was raised to life eternal. The problem of man’s sinfulness had been resolved. Personally sinless, justified by his Father, this new man clearly demonstrates that life could be brought out of death. This is a great encouragement. We have seen a mortal man raised to immortality; it can be done. More than that, we have his promise that we also may be accounted pure, justified in the sight of God, and made fit for eternity.
Following our Lord and Master, our new life is derived from him just as our life was derived from Adam. The old life is passed, we are a new creation. Without Christ, natural man is only the living dead, marvelous enough in his construction, but lacking the vital component of spiritual life. Christ Jesus has breathed into us and in this spirit we live and are at one with the Father and the Son. The words of Jesus are spirit and life. How much better is this compared to the breath of life that animated the race of Adam. The breath of life cannot be passed on; no man can give life to another. But the spirit of life in Christ is passed on by his words, which are readily communicated to another.
At one with the Father and Son
God pronounced His first creation “very good.” But the unity and harmony of Eden was shattered through disobedience. Four thousand years later our Savior said: “I and my Father are one” (Jn. 10:30). In his heart felt prayer just prior to his death, the Savior included us in that unity: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us…” (Jn. 17:20-21).
Do we live up to this ideal? Sadly we reflect upon the history of the schisms and factions that have produced the various “fellowships” and caused disunity in the brotherhood. Friction and disputes among ecclesial members can foster disunity and disharmony. On a personal basis we can allow doubts and fears to lead to faithlessness within ourselves. Our united effort must be for the cessation of all division, looking forward to the time when “The Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one” (Zech. 14:9). From dust we were made and to dust we shall return unless we keep our hope firmly fixed on God’s promises. The emblems before us bring to mind the one who opened the way to the Father and made it possible for us to look forward to the sound of the trumpet, “The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.. .So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. 0 death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor. 15:52, 54-57).
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One